Car-door



W. L. RANSOME.

OAR DOOR.

(No Model.)

Patented Jun 12, 1894.

*NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIE LEEK RANSOME, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

CAR-DOOR.

SPECIFIGATI ON' forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,296, dated June12, 1894; Ap lication filed March 31, 1893. $erial No. 468,478. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIE LEEK RAN- SOME, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke and State ofVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOar-Doors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the'invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to thefletters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved car door,designed particularly for use on freight cars where it is desired tocompletely close the door opening and at the same time employ alaterally moving or sliding door to prevent all danger of the same beingstruck by passing trains.

The invention consists in certain novel details of construction andcombinations and arrangements of parts all as will be now described andpointed out particularly in the appended claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:- Figure 1, is an elevation of acar door constructed in accordance with this invention, closed. Fig. 2is a similar View with the door partially open. Fig. 3, is a verticalsection with the door closed and Fig. 4, is a similar view with the dooropen; both these last mentioned views showing the operating and lookingmechanism.

Similar letters of reference in the variousfigures indicate the sameparts.

The letter a indicates the side of a car of any usual or preferredpattern, having at the top a track or Way B such as is ordinarilyemployed for sliding or laterally movable doors of this class and at theb0tt0m, a series of guides 0 consisting of brackets set at intervalsalong the lower portion of the body of the car in the direction that thedoor moves for holding the bottom of the door close in to the side ofthe car when being moved along the track, and in the present instancealso serving as a means whereby the door may be held within the dooropening as will presently appear by reason of recesses creating awedgelike action upon the locking arms, the sta bility of the joinderbeing increased and motion of the car.

ThedooritselfD and the opening into which it is adapted to fit so as tolie flush with the side of the car when closed, are preferably beveledalong the edges, thus while the door will enter easily it willcompletely fill the opening when seated effectually closing all thecracks. Y

At the top of the door the lower ends f of two or more hangers aresecured the upper ends F of such hangers being connected bya frame orcross piece G and each is formed into a housing for an antifrictionwheel g adapted to ride on the track B. Projections by the jar g gintegrally constructed with the track B serve as flanges for the wheels9 g to run upon. The connection between this hanger frame, (as I shallterm the connected upper portions of the hangers,) and the ends fareformed by intermediate link sections H hinged respectively to saidhanger frame and ends f, preferably by elbow hinges which will permitthe door to be raised or lowered when swung out of the opening radially.In the latter position the intermediate link sections turn downsubstantially straight and the elbow hinges prevent the door fromswinging outward.

An intermediate hanger I is attached to the hanger frame and is providedwith a downward extension 2' to the lower end of which a lever K ispivotally connected and adapted to co-operate with a pin or projectionis on the car door, preferably at a point somewhat below the center. Theextension 11 is guided by a yoke i1 and in operation, it will be at onceseen, the person closing or opening the door hooks the inner end of theleverbeneath the projection is and bypressing down on the outer end ofthe lever K raises the entire door and the upper end being guided by theintermediate link connections moves into the door opening then by aninward pressure the bottom of the door follows, as a matter of course.

To open the door, the bottom of the door is pulled out instead of beingpushed in and when out, the lever is employed to lower it until itsentire weight issupported by thehangers and its lower edge guided by theguides O.

The two bracket guides O nearest the bottom of the opening are utilizedto hold the door closed by means of lockin g arms or 1nemhers M pivotedto the outer face of the door at the lower corners and adapted to swingdown into the guides as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, so that the dooralways rests on two guide-brackets. These locking arms have projectionsin or on their ends which are of approximately the thickness of thelower edge of the door and thus by filling the bracket guides Ceffectually hold the bottom of the door in. The arms M drop and are heldin place by gravity, in the recesses of the guide brackets C, so thatthe motion and jar of the car increase the wedge-like joinder betweenthem.

I am aware of the patents heretofore granted respectively on the 10thday of September, 1889, to McIntyre numbered 410,766; and on the 16thday of September, 1890, to Ritter, numbered 436,505, and disclaim eachand both of said patents as anticipatory of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

In car doors the body a provided with the bracket guides 0, havingrecesses therein and located on the lower portion of said body, in thedirection that the door moves; and the track B having flanges g, incombination with the door D having hangers F, I connected by cross pieceG, and provided with wheels g adapted to run on said track; the hingesI-l, whereby said door may be angnlarly inclined to its normal plane;the lever K fulcruined at 7t insuring the inclination of said door bydirect pulling force; the extension '5, and yoke t; and the pivotedlocking arms M located near eachlower corner of the door and adapted toengage the recesses in the guide brackets C before reachingaperpendicularposition, whereby a wedge-like joinder between them iscreated, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereofI attix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lVILLIE LEEK RANSOME.

\Vitnesses:

M. '1. MOOMOW, G. A. WINGFIELD, Jr.

